Forever in Your Debt
by Katniss730
Summary: Late/Post-Mockingjay: After losing so many close to her, Katniss is in a dark place. When she reached the nadir of her sorrow, only one person can bring her back from the brink. Peeta X Katniss. Rated M for adult themes


**_This is my first Hunger Games fic, but certainly not my first fic. This is set towards the end of Mockingjay. The parts in italics are a flashback._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or any of the characters._**

* * *

It began with the row of primroses Peeta planted along my house. I can imagine him lovingly digging each one up from the forest.

Then, we worked on the book together. Peeta was eager to help in any way that would aid in my emotional healing.

As the months passed, Peeta's visits became increasingly more frequent. Sometimes, when we took walks, Peeta reaches for my hand. When he threads his fingers through mine, I can feel my heartbeat quicken.

Peeta.

He deserves so much better, so much more. Someone open, someone not damaged by war and loss. Haymitch was right. I could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve him.

I will be forever in his debt.

* * *

"_Katniss," Peeta calls._

_He receives no response._

"_Katniss, you didn't eat the bread I left this morning. Sae said you wouldn't come out of your room."_

_Again, he is met with silence._

"_Please, Katniss," Peeta says as he climbs the stairs to the second floor._

"_We're worried about you, even -." _

_That's when Peeta sees it. Blood. At first, he thinks it must be a tracker jacker induced vision. But, it isn't. Katniss is lying in a pool of her own blood. Just like in the cave._

"_God, Katniss!" Peeta says, rushing towards her._

"_Katniss, oh, Katniss, what have you done?" Peeta says feeling for a pulse._

_It's faint, but he feels it. She's alive. Her left arm is cut open from her wrist half way to her elbow. Peeta wrapped her arms tightly with a towel before lifting her into his arms._

_She's lifeless and light as a feather, and Peeta wonders just how little she's eaten in the last week._

_He runs as quickly as his prosthetic leg will allow him to Haymitch's house and practically breaks the door down trying to enter._

"_Don't you kids ever -" Haymitch begins before he sees Peeta, nearly as white as the seemingly lifeless girl in his arms, "Jesus!"_

"_You need to call the healer. Now!" Peeta shouts, and Haymitch is off the couch before Peeta can finish his last statement. _

_He lays her gently on the couch and presses his head against her chest to check for her heart beat. _

"_Stay with me, Katniss. Please, stay with me. We'll get through this together, like everything else," he whispers._

"_She's on her way," Haymitch said as he returns the phone to his cradle. _

_Haymitch looks over at his former charges. He helped them survive the arena only to return to a nightmare._

"_Peeta," he begins but doesn't know what to say. Instead, he takes a swig of liquor and awaits the healer's arrival._

_The healer arrived several minutes later. Peeta hurriedly explained how he'd found Katniss – bleeding and unconscious. The healer quickly determined that Katniss needed to be transported to the hospital immediately. A hovercraft, still emblazoned with the Capitol symbol, arrived less than twenty minutes later. _

"_I'm going with her," Peeta said resolutely._

"_That's not –"the medic began._

_Haymitch brusquely pulled him aside. Peeta didn't know what Haymitch told the man, but moments later, they were both boarding the hovercraft. The medic would have been hard pressed to separate Peeta from Katniss. He didn't release her hand until a nurse in four said they needed to take Katniss for treatment immediately._

_Once Katniss was whisked away by the doctors and nurses, Peeta collapsed into a chair in the waiting room and buried his face in his hands. Haymitch was silent._

"_She was doing better," Peeta said adamantly, "She was getting up almost every day to hunt. She was eating better."_

"_Peeta -," Haymitch begins, looking for words of comfort._

"_Prim," Peeta mutters._

_Haymitch looks at him curiously._

"_It would have been her fifteenth birthday."_

"_What?" _

"_A month or so ago, Katniss said that Prim's birthday was exactly two weeks after hers," Peeta said shaking his head, "God, I should have remembered. I should have stayed with her or -."_

"_Peeta," Haymitch interrupted, "Look, you can't be there every minute of every day to convince her to stay alive."_

_Before the last syllable had crossed Haymitch's lips, Peeta's fist connected with Haymitch's jaw._

_Hospital security immediately grabbed Peeta roughly._

"_It's okay. Let him go," Haymitch said rubbing his jaw._

_The security man looked at Haymitch quizzically. Haymitch barked, "Go," and he scurried off._

"_Feel better now?"_

"_No…maybe a little," Peeta grumbled softly, "Sorry."_

_Haymitch moved his jaw from side to side, "Eh, no permanent damage done."_

"_I can't lose her," Peeta said, "We survived two games and a war. I can't lose her now."_

_Haymitch nods slightly, having more experience with loss than he'd like. Hesitantly, he put his arm around Peeta. Peeta momentarily leaned into the awkward embrace before collapsing into a chair behind him. Thirty minutes had passed in silence when a petite, young nurse approached Peeta and Haymitch._

"_You're here for Ms. Everdeen?" she asked._

"_Yes," Peeta said, jumping out of his seat, "is she going to be okay?"_

_The nurse nodded, "She was given a blood transfusion to compensate for the blood loss. Her heart rate was dangerously low, which may have caused less oxygen to reach her brain."_

_Peeta cut the nurse off asking, "Do you mean she could be…brain dead?"_

_The nurse sighed, "It's unlikely. The tests suggest normal brain activity, but we won't know for certain until she wakes up."_

"_When will that be?" Peeta asked nervously._

"_In the next few hours. She was given morphling. She will, of course, have to stay here after she wakes up to receive psychiatric care."_

_Peeta nodded, "C-can I see her?"_

"_Of course," the nurse replied. There were no questions about whether or not he was family, as were typically only allowed to visit in such situations. Everyone knew Katniss _

_Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the star crossed lovers._

_The nurse asked Peeta to follow her. Peeta glanced back at Haymitch, expecting him to follow._

_Haymitch shook his head, "You go, kid. Wouldn't want her to wake up to my face."_

_Peeta nodded, quickly following behind the nurse. She led him into a white, sterile hospital room. Peeta halted, momentarily, in the doorway. Katniss laid in the bed connected to many tubes and wires. She looked so frail; Peeta's heart sank at the sight of her._

_When he began moving again, the nurse directed him to the large chair beside the bed._

"_It pulls out to lie flat, if you want to spend the night."_

"_Thank you."_

"_You're welcome," she said with a sad smile, "Call if you or Katniss need anything."_

_Peeta nodded._

_Quickly, the nurse added, "It isn't fair, after everything the two of you have been through…"_

_She stopped, clearly stifling a sob._

_Peeta rested his hand on her shoulder and searched for her name tag, "I know, Sandra. Thank you for taking such good care of her."_

_Sandra nodded and smiled back at him._

_Peeta fell into the chair beside Katniss' bed. He brought his hand to rest on Katniss' cheek. Her face was paler than usual, but she had more color than when he's found her earlier that day. He brushes his hand over her shoulder and down her arm, his fingers finally finding her hand. _

"_I will be here when you wake up, Katniss. I'll be here. Always."_

* * *

_Please review to let me know what you think!_


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